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The Life and Death of 840 Memorial Plaques

2021; Purdue University Press; Volume: 39; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/sho.2021.0009

1534-5165

Alanna E. Cooper,

Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies

The Life and Death of 840 Memorial Plaques Alanna E. Cooper (bio) One month after Eva died, Al Weiss wrote a check to the synagogue in the amount of $180. According to gematria—an ancient Jewish numerical system—18 equals life, and 180 equals life tenfold. A fitting sum to honor the deceased. The funds were used to purchase a bronze plaque. Rectangular in shape, it measured ten inches across by two inches high. The raised, gold-hued letters shone against the plate’s smooth surface. On the first line: Eva Weiss On the second line, the name in Hebrew: Chava Weiss daughter of Yosef On the third line, the date of her death: the sixth day of Shvat, the year 5764 (which is 2004 according to the secular calendar). EVA WEISS On Eva’s first yahrzeit—the anniversary of her passing—Al’s mind wandered. As the service unfolded, he paid no attention to the prayer book on his lap, focusing instead on the heavy memorial boards that lined the chapel. Three boards were affixed to the south wall, and three to the north wall. Al calculated: 35 rows of plaques were mounted on each board, with four plaques per row. That made 140 plaques on each board, 840 plaques in total. A lot of people have died, he thought. After the service ended and the other congregants left, Al stayed behind. The small bulb beside Eva’s plaque was illuminated, casting an orange glow across her name. He touched the raised letters. Then he kissed his fingers and [End Page 88] stroked, moving lightly back-and-forth over the plaque. The rubbing motion conjured her. When Eva appeared, her eyes were wide open. She did not look as she did in the hospital bed before she died, mouth agape, face and arms swollen. Instead, she held an apple cake she had just taken from the oven, her smile bright, and her hair piled on top of her head. She was floating, like a Chagall painting, swishing over to one side, the cake sliding gently on the plate, her apron billowing. Al lifted his hand from the plaque and turned around to tell her that he missed her, but she was gone. And so it was, each year on the anniversary of Eva’s death. He did not tell Joe or anyone else that when he stroked the plaque, she appeared. Each time, she was a different age, dressed in a different outfit, but always the same delicate face. Once she was wearing a bathing suit, sand covering her feet, a beach hat throwing a shadow over her eyes. Another time she was seated in an overstuffed chair, glasses pushed down her nose, reading the newspaper. A moment later, she was gone. ________ Al met Eva when he was a young man, and he asked her to wait for him until he finished his studies in Vienna. Their plans changed only a few months into his first semester, as the political situation in Europe unraveled. He received an invitation from his uncle in the United States to join him as an assistant in his jewelry shop, and the couple decided to go. They wed in a small ceremony and boarded a ship to America the next day, leaving their parents and siblings behind. When Al and Eva arrived in Riverton, Industrial Enterprises—the town’s largest employer—was growing. Newcomers were clamoring to buy homes in the town, and the bakeries, clothing shops, scrap metal yards, groceries, and pharmacies were turning a steady profit. Al’s uncle’s jewelry stop thrived. The couple bought their own small house and became members of Ner Tamid Synagogue. The synagogue bustled. Every night of the week people gathered in the building for one activity or another: classes, bingo games, and youth group meetings. Sisterhood-members spent Thursday evenings in the large kitchen, taking turns preparing lunch to be served after services on [End Page 89] Saturday mornings. One prepared kugel, another made egg salad, and a third arranged fruit platters. Eva made the cake. Between peeling the apples and blending the sugar and shortening, she took a bottle of schnapps from the...